IF WE follow the Duterte administration's policy, no one seems to be a sacred cow in its drive to weed out corrupt officials and instrumentalities.
First, the billionaire Lucio Tan, owner of the country's flag carrier, the Philippine Airlines. Recently, the President prodded him to seriously consider paying the huge taxes for using the national airport facilities for a sustained period.
After the brouhaha on Mighty Corporation's malfeasance over fake stamps on cigarettes found in its warehouses, President Duterte confronted the giant tobacco firm and dared it to pay billions of pesos in taxes, otherwise, he will sue it.
President Duterte has no fear or qualms running roughshod on the high and the mighty because he says he didn't ask favors from them especially during the campaign. Now he walks the talk and briskly at that.
And now, the President confronts squarely the Office of the Ombudsman, a constitutional body.
Per reports, the President would create a commission to probe supposed corruption in the anti-graft agency, as a retort to the latter's ongoing efforts to investigate the President and his family's bank transactions as revealed by the Anti Money Laundering Council. The Office of the Ombudsman says it will not be intimidated by the President's threat to create the Commission to probe the former's perceived wrongdoing.
Previously, he facilitated the incarceration of Senator Leila de Lima, for conspiracy in the drug trade at the National Bilibid Prison. De Lima
remains locked up in jail until her petitions with the Supreme Court are acted upon.
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My thanks to Failon Ngayon over DZMM for the birthday greetings aired nationwide by DJ Chacha and Blackbox Radyo Patrol Jowie Rebate. Pareng
Gasmin facilitated this exposure over national radio.
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There are reports that Shell Company owes the government back taxes
of about P113 billion (yes, billion). This, the Duterte administration should pursue relentlessly to collect and the amount would be a big boost to the country's financial resources.
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Mayor Crisostomo Garbo and his team are warming up well in their
administration of the Mabalacat City governance, operations and affairs.
His 100 days period is upcoming.
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Happy birthday to my former Peso pet, now CPDC's staff member Irish
Camille Tolentino!